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The History of the Episcopal Church in Utah

The Episcopal Church was the first protestant church organized with concerted effort in Utah. The Rev. Daniel Tuttle was chosen as missionary bishop of Montana, Idaho and Utah on October 5, 1866, and was consecrated on May 1, 1867. He served as bishop until 1886.

Tuttle arrived in Salt Lake City on July 4, 1867. George Foote and T.W. Haskins, who held the first church service at Independence Hall in May of 1867 and began raising funds for a school, preceded him. St. Mark’s school opened on July 1, 1867, the first non-Mormon school in Utah. Rowland Hall boarding and day school for girls opened in 1880. The two schools combined and became Rowland Hall-St. Mark’s School in 1964.

The cornerstone of the Cathedral Church of St. Mark was laid July 30, 1870. The parish was formally organized in November of that year, with Bishop Tuttle as Rector. The Cathedral was occupied in May of 1871, and is listed on the Utah State and National Historic Registers.

In 1870, church services were first held in Ogden, at the train station. The School of the Good Shepherd opened in October of that year, with thirteen students. In April of 1874, the cornerstone of the Church of the Good Shepherd was laid. The church was consecrated on February 6, 1875.

The Rt. Rev. Abiel Leonard served as bishop from 1888 until 1903 and continued Bishop Tuttle’s mission. Numerous churches were opened in mining and other communities, including missions to the Ute Indians in the Uintah Basin.

BP Leonard clergy

St. Mark’s Hospital was organized in 1872 with representatives from the Episcopal Church, Camp Douglas and the mining industry. The hospital moved to increasingly larger quarters several times, and is now located at 1200 East and 3900 South. The hospital was sold in 1987. The assets from sale of the hospital increased the church’s stewardship in the state, facilitating capital purchases and improvements to various parishes, and buildings in Salt Lake City and Ogden to house Episcopal Community Services, which assists under-served populations.

The Episcopal Church in Utah is a diocese of the Episcopal Church USA, part of the worldwide Anglican Communion. The diocese consists of 22 parishes and over 6,000 members across Utah and one parish in Northern Arizona. The Rt. Rev. Scott B. Hayashi serves as the 11th bishop of the Diocese of Utah.